Transport

It was the first day this year that the Gloucestershire & Warwickshire Steam Railway had run a two-train service. Great Western Manor 4-6-0 7820 Dinmore Manor was on the 14.40 service. We were heading back to the Midlands from Somerset and made a reservation on this train. Here 7820 is seen at Cheltenham Racecourse station, the southern terminus, taking water while running round its train of seven coaches. It was a very enjoyable journey for us but with only 6 passengers in those 7 coaches hardly a commercial proposition for the railway!

It's grim up North - not... A beautiful morning in the classic Pennine landscape of the Colne valley west of Huddersfield. Looking north from Manchester Road. On the Millstone Grit viaduct an unidentified TransPennine Class 185 diesel multiple unit on 2M62 the 07.53 Huddersfield to Manchester Piccadilly service passes Spa mill built in 1907 & one of the few still operational in the area.

Back in those carefree pre-Covid days! British Railways Standard 5 4-6-0 73156 with cylinder taps still open approaches Beeches Road bridge with the departing 13.00 dining train. HFF and have a safe & healthy weekend.

Burma Railways metre gauge class YD 2-8-2 967 passes northwards as darkness falls. The sun really had set by this time and we needed a torch to pick our way out of the padi fields back to the train.

After taking water Stanier 8F 2-8-0 48305 slips as it pulls away from the tank north of Loughborough station. It was coming off shed to work the empty stock to Quorn for the first train of the day. I was weeding the site to make it look more presentable in preparation for passenger trains to return to this station. HFF to everyone. Have a happy and safe weekend.

Bike and sidecar in the streets of Rangoon/Yangon.

Airborne over Wadi Hadramaut in eastern Yemen. Because of the dramatic relief (up to 300m) between wadi & jebel we used helicopters on the seismic acquisition crew and all equipment was flown out to the line. This is the view as the aircraft tops the jebel. We had one ex-Vietnam vet pilot who used to delight in giving visiting newcomers a gentle take off from the jebel, fly slowly across the edge of the cliff & then immediately drop vertically down 500ft into the wadi. An exhilarating experience to say the least. Unfortunately he was later in an accident when the engines cut-out at about 100ft when he was long-lining & the helicopter fell to the ground. Amazingly he kept the aircraft upright & survived with minor cuts & bruises but shortly after he decided enough was enough & took retirement.

The Chicago & NorthWestern Railroad terminus in Chicago was rebuilt in 1984 as the Ogilvie Transportation Center but this view shows the original station in all its gloom. 1953 built C&NW EMD E8 diesel 521 waits departure northwards. These fine engines have since been withdrawn.

Passengers must only cross the line by means of the footbridge provided... but these ladies are taking the most direct route to market with their fruit passing in front of diesel DF.1264, Chinese-built for Myanmar Railways in 1995, waiting to depart from Yangon's main station.